Our names are Ellefleur (aged 15) and Anneroos (aged 13). We have lived outside The Netherlands for our entire life despite being completely Dutch. In Indonesia, where we live, it is impossible to jump onto a bike and drive around to different places. This is simply because is isn't safe enough as there are no pavements/ bicycle roads etc. We both learnt how to bike ride in our garden when we were younger. Since we come to visit The Netherlands very often, we finally decided that it would be a good idea to learn all the things that we had missed out on regarding road safety.
Which is why we are so grateful that people like Marja are there to educate and help people like us. Marja is constantly enthusiastic and engaged with whoever she is working with. We begun by getting a feel of the bikes, and practicing certain excersises to help us with out balance and confidence. We then started driving through a public park where it was still very peaceful. Within two lessons we had immediately felt a whole lot more confident on the road. Tackling big roundabouts (which we were both super afraid of at first), recognising how to be aware of your surroundings, understanding road signs and when to signal certain things to other people on the road.
We would like to recommend Marja with big pleasure. Without her our lessons wouldn't have been so fun! Thank you Marja for this. We wish everyone who is reading this message a lot of biking fun!
Best wishes, Ellefleur & Anneroos
July 2017

Ellefleur en Anneroos

I contacted Het Fietscollege following an incident where my daughter was hit by a car while riding to school. I was concerned that she wouldn't want to ride again after the scare she had, and also that she was not riding safely in traffic.
Marja met with my daughter, who is a 12 year-old, and made an agreement with her to have one on one bike riding lessons.
Marja gave advice on the best kind of bike to have and how to use it safely, then she helped my daughter get to know the breaks and steering properly among other basic bike riding skills.

She took her through a series of training sessions, firstly in a safe enclosed area where she was taught road rules and other bike skills, then in a park with bike paths, then finally they went on the road.
After these sessions, my daughter was confident enough to get on her bike again and more importantly, she was riding more safely on the road.
Marja was important because my daughter listened to her and took notice of her instructions and now puts them into practice when on her bike. Marja also had a very positive and friendly way of communicating which made the whole situation easy for everyone involved and put my worried mind at rest.

I absolutely recommend Het Fietscollege for helping anyone who has concerns about their riding skills or riding safely on the road.

“I would recommend Ruud to anyone. I was very nervous – and embarrassed – about getting on a bike for the first time at the age of 30; Ruud was calm and re-assuring, he never made me feel stupid and made the whole process fun! If you’ve never cycled before and think you can’t do it, Ruud will prove you wrong. Taking lessons with him is one of the best things I’ve done.”

Beth Dugan

'Even though my kids are Dutch, they did not live in The Netherlands during the years that most Dutch kids learn to bike in the city. Once back in Holland, we asked Ruud to give them a crush course safe biking. Ruud biked our children to school for several weeks, teaching them to watch, watch, watch and all the important traffic rules. My kids learned a lot from Ruud and enjoyed riding to school with him.' Ariane van Notten, mother of students at ISA

Ariane van Notten

My name is Steve Webber and I was born in 1952. I came to Amsterdam from the UK to work for a bank. To my shame I have never ridden a bike so I decided to learn in one of the great homes of cycling. Initially Ruud taught me a number of useful exercises to improve balance and confidence before we ventured on to the roads of Amsterdam. The experience on the roads was excellent and Ruud was always a safe and sensible leader. He is a patient and understanding teacher, with a good sense of humor (very important when making mistakes ).I needed only 14 one hour lessons in 2 months to be able to ride around with the arrogance of a true Amsterdammer !

"I never rode a bike before and was worried it moght be too late to learn, but I was lucky to come accros Marja Popper online. Marja is professional, patient, supportive and knows how to work with adults that want to learn how to bike. I highly recommend Marja to all ages.
Best"

Mariam Alshamsi

Dear Marja, thank you for your kind attention and information. The student delivers
their potential only when they have a good teacher. Hayley had an excellent teacher
:-)

Warm regards

Geoff

I registered on the bike lessons with my 5 years old son Hekma. My son so far, was happy with his 3 wheels and was not about to give it up. I, on the other hand, had not experienced a bike ride before. From the first lesson, we knew that we were on capable hands and an experienced bike teacher. From the technic and methodology of handling a bike via the rules and regulations applied to bike riders, to the practice in the real traffic environment, all was there to help us master our bikes.

Amazingly, my son was able to ride his bike, without his side wheels, from day one of the training! Today, Thanks to Marya's college we joined other millions bikers on the road with confidence.

Het Haags Fiets college can only be highly recommended by us. If you are looking for Bike college, you have found it! Call Marya today!

Thank you very much Maria.

Sibo

Giancarlo and Aurelio (5 years old)
I was surprised to see my son starting to cycle just at the end of the first lesson. I learned to cycle when I was a little boy after many falls and bruises and I could not imagine this would be possible. And he did not fall once. Marja was able to keep him focus and encouraged him to overcome the little challenges she set for him during the lesson. My son was so excited and happy to see himself progressing particularly when he did his first "solo" lap. Memorable moments!